The importance of cities to economic dynamism and growth cannot be emphasized enough. It is crucial for our understanding of what drives economic growth to understand how cities emerge, develop and prosper. This paper investigates the emergence of cities from a spontaneous order and urban...

This paper proposes that a virtuous circle for the sustainable develop- ment of a city or region is achieved through a process whereby proactive and strong leadership and effective institutions enhance the capacity and capability of a place to better use its resource endowments and gain an...

This paper proposes a revised view of regional economic wellbeing. Recent papers on regional studies have expressed concern about the notion of regional well-being that considers only per-capita income indicators. Comparing Italian and Spanish regions and using Data Envelopment Analysis, this...

We estimate the Anderson and van Wincoop model of trade by using the data on the bilateral export flows from 26 Turkish regions to 180 countries for the years 2002 through to 2010. Regional transportation and communication infrastructure capacity, the positioning of point infrastructure in a...

The literature on growth theory has pointed to the importance of human capital in order to explain the process of economic development. In the present study, we highlight the role played by cities in fostering human capital accumulation. More particularly, building on a simple urban economics...

The largest cities in the world today lie mainly in relatively poor countries, which is a departure from historical experience, when the largest cities were typically found in the richest places. Using new data on the demographic history of the 100 largest mega-cities of today, we establish...

This paper analyses the aspects of spatial economics that deals with innovation, regional specialization and dynamic systems of functional regions and in particular the contributions made by the economist Börje Johansson. The innovation aspect consists of innovation networks, knowledge sources...

Since the introduction of its “open door” policy in the late 1970s, China has been attracting a growing share of FDI inflows and its international trade integration has advanced considerably. In this study, we take a closer look at the regional growth impact of the Chinese...

The article analyses the new estimates of regional value added in Italy, in benchmark years from 1891 to 2001, by decomposing them into activity rates and per worker productivity, in agriculture, industry, and services. The impact of activity rates and per worker productivity on the pattern of...

Polycentrism is a common feature of European urban systems. Lately, the concept has assumed a more normative relevance and it has been often considered as a pre?requisite for a more sustainable and balanced development across Europe. However, the effects of polycentrism on other main European...